A Case of the Chuckles

Our Picks for This Year's Bridgetown Comedy Fest

WITH A MOVE from SE Hawthorne to Lower Burnside, and big-name headliners paired with our local stand-up faves (when else do you get to see Janeane Garofalo AND Bri Pruett's Mercury-forged sex column in stand-up showcase form?), this year's Bridgetown Comedy Festival promises to deliver four days of outsized chuckles. From feminist jokes to '90s cartoon aspirations to comedy specials that outclass even Louis C.K.'s, here are just a few of the shows we can't wait to make us ugly-laugh until our faces crumple.

Blaria (Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson)

New York stand-up Phoebe Robinson and The Daily Show's Jessica Williams refer to themselves as "Blarias," or Black Darias, looking at the world through the same jaded lens as the main character of MTV's beloved animated series Daria. The two have been displaying their point of view, as well as the work of comedians who share it, through their monthly Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre showcase Blaria LIVE! For the first time, Williams and Robinson are bringing the show to the West Coast for this year's Bridgetown Comedy Fest, and sharing the stage with their friends Michelle Buteau, Baron Vaughn, and Maggie Maye. ROBERT HAM

Comedy reunion! In this extra-special edition of Funny Over Everything, noted funny person/local hero Sean Jordan brings two beloved expats of Portland stand-up back where they belong—Ian Karmel (who now files his Mercury column from LA, where he's a writer on the new Late Late Show on CBS) and Shane Torres (who left us for New York in October, although he's made some in-town cameos since then, fortunately). Among the troupe of stand-ups joining them is the wonderfully dry Beth Stelling. If you went to last year's All Jane No Dick comedy fest, you're probably versed in her deadpan jokes about dating stoners and the joys of working in the food-service industry: Her goofy, pointed humor was one of the highlights of an already uniformly great lineup. If you want to check out a show pairing longtime Portland favorites with gleeful out-of-towners, put this one on your dance card. MEGAN BURBANK

While it often seems inevitable to see beloved local stand-ups relocate to bigger comedy hubs, Denver's Adam Cayton-Holland is the exception to the LA-exodus rule. When Hollywood opportunity beckoned, Cayton-Holland remained in Colorado, determined to grow the scene and enjoy a modicum of peaceful daily life in the city he loves. While certainly a gamble both financial and otherwise, the decision worked swimmingly for the broad but darkly sarcastic, incisive comic. In 2013, Cayton-Holland helped found the High Plains Comedy Fest (a citywide event openly modeled after Bridgetown), he threw a first pitch at a Rockies game last season, and sold a show to truTV this spring—Those Who Can't, set in Denver, with Ben Roy and Andrew Orvedahl writing and starring alongside Cayton-Holland. They're also the trio behind the Grawlix, a monthly show in Denver à la Funny Over Everything, which they'll bring to Bridgetown. All marvelous in their own right, together they multiply. ANDREW R TONRY

After watching Kyle Kinane's recent hourlong special, I Liked His Old Stuff Better, fellow stand-up Andy Kindler tweeted: "Nobody is funnier than @KyleKinane. I give up." From Kindler, a respected craftsman and true comic's comic, it was high praise. Indeed, Kinane's new hourlong special is the best I've heard this year—and that includes Louis C.K.'s Live at the Comedy Store. Kinane, with his self-deprecating barbs and effortless storytelling, is becoming one of the best in the game. And as a relentless road dog—rather than aspiring actor—he just keeps getting better. If it were up to me, Kinane's name would top any Bridgetown marquee. ART

If All Jane No Dick is your favorite comedy festival, and, like me, you're a loyal audience member at Portland's many proudly feminist, queer-friendly stand-up showcases, then don't miss Bridgetown's answer to long-running local gems like Am I Right, Ladies? and Lez Stand Up. Hosted by the delightful Caitlin Weierhauser (as it should be), Les Is More boasts a lineup jam-packed with great lady comics, including Ever Mainard, who's been recognized by Jezebel for her unicorn-like ability to tell an actually funny, feminist, dickbaggery-free joke about rape culture, and Boston's Samaria "Sam Jay" Johnson, whose goofy riffs on train etiquette and white people who love hard drugs have a sharp, sociopolitical edge. With Caitlin Gill, Scout Durwood, Jessica Sele, and Maggie Faris also on board, it'll be a great opportunity to drown the patriarchy in misandrist laughter. MB